Minor Magics: The Demon Code

by Sara C. Roethle

  The door creaked open behind me. I turned to find the blonde had come back to us. “Come in,” she sighed, then held the door open wide enough for us to walk through.

  “So you don’t have demon wards?” I questioned. Since I was half-human, I could walk through the wards regardless, but most witches didn’t realize that.

  “Rose doesn’t like the wards. She doesn’t want us picking sides.”

  Well that was a relief. The witches might not be willing to help us, but at least they probably wouldn’t kill us.

  I led the way into a sleek entry room with sparse decor. A massive set of stairs led up to the second story in traditional fancy mansion manner. Wide halls led off to either side.

  “Xoe!” a familiar voice called out, moments before someone barreled into me.

  I returned Rose’s enthusiastic hug, pleased she didn’t seem to mind the visit.

  She pulled away and looked me over, pushing a lock of her short, dyed black hair behind her ear. Blunt bangs framed her wide, eager eyes. The new hair fit well with her torn up jeans and black silk blouse. Very grunge chic. “Sorry I couldn’t greet you right away,” she said, “I was on the phone.”

  “That’s alright,” I assured. “Blondie here received us graciously.”

  Blondie’s jaw tensed. “It’s Melrose,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “Demons make Mel a little anxious,” Rose whispered conspiratorially. “She’s been spending too much time around my mom.”

  I forced myself to continue smiling. Rose’s mom, Cynthia, had never been one of my favorite people, but I couldn’t really blame her for hating demons. They’d killed her other daughter and husband, after all.

  Rose’s gaze finally encompassed Chase and Jason. “Is the whole old gang back together then? Where are Lucy and Max?”

  Chase and Jason both stepped forward, ignoring Mel staring daggers at them. “We have a favor to ask,” Chase explained. “Well, I have a favor to ask.” He glanced back at Mel. “It’s a sensitive matter.”

  Rose lifted her hand and made a shooing gesture toward Mel.

  Mel’s glare deepened, but she stalked off like a good little minion.

  Rose turned back to me. “Coffee? Don’t you dare think you can get out of here without telling me all about living full time in the demon underground.”

  I frowned. Did everyone know what I’d been up to? “Sure, coffee sounds good.”

  We followed her through a space too wide to be called a hallway, though that’s basically what it was, and into an expansive kitchen, gleaming with bronze fixtures and gray marble tiles.

  “This is Mel’s place,” she explained, making her way toward a coffee pot with more buttons than I’d know what to do with, “but I’ve been living here a few months.” She turned toward us as she filled the carafe with water from the tap. “How did you know where to find me?”

  I glanced at Jason as I lowered myself onto one of the stools bordering the counter where it curved to partially bisect the room in an ‘L’ shape.

  “I still work for the wolves,” he said cryptically.

  “Ah,” Rose replied, then finished the coffee setup.

  Chase stepped forward as Rose approached us. “I need your word that anything said here will remain between the four of us. Demons can be sensitive about such matters.”

  Rose snorted. “I of all people know not to involve myself in demon affairs any more than necessary.” She turned toward me. “This won’t bring any trouble here, will it? I won’t endanger Mel.”

  My eyebrows raised as realization hit me. “Are you and her a thing?”

  Rose grinned.

  Ah, now her living in the mansion made sense. “I don’t see any reason why it would endanger either of you. We just need you to tell us who an object belongs to, or at least send us in the right direction.” I reached into my deep coat pocket and pulled out the bagged up murder weapon.

  Rose took a step back. “What the hell have you guys gotten yourselves into?” She leaned forward, observing the bag still dangling from my grip. “I’m guessing that’s not animal blood?”

  I shook my head, then sat the knife down on the counter.

  Jason was watching me intently. “You’ve been carrying that around this entire time?”

  I rolled my eyes. “How else did you expect her to trace it?”

  He shook his head, clearly displeased with my antics. So what else was new? I turned back to Rose. “Do you think you could tell us where this knife came from?”

  She nodded, still staring at the weapon. “I can, but first you have to tell me who was stabbed.”

  I glanced at Chase.

  “My brother,” he explained. “He’s dead, and we think this knife will lead us to his killer.”

  Rose’s expression crumbled. “I’m so sorry. I mean, he was kind of a jerk, but he didn’t deserve . . . ” she glanced at the knife, “that.”

  Chase nodded, entirely used to Sam being called a jerk by now. “Thanks.”

  Jason looked like he wanted to say something, but held back. What could you really say to your one time friend who kind of stole your one time love?

  Rose pushed away from the counter, returning to the coffee pot to pick four mugs from a little wooden mug tree. She filled them each, then retrieved a glass bottle of fancy cream from the fridge.

  I swiveled off my stool, then hopped up to grab a mug. If Jason couldn’t come up with any comforting words for Chase, I sure as hell couldn’t. What could you really say to your one time love who kind of broke your heart?

  I dumped cream in my cup, then took a sip. When in doubt, fill yourself with coffee.

  As the boys prepared their mugs, Rose and I returned to the knife.

  “We’ll start by determining the owner’s species and gender,” she explained, lifting the edge of the plastic baggie. “After that, we can work on location. I won’t be able to tell you specifically who it is, unless it’s someone I’ve met. If it’s someone I’ve met, I’ll know right away.”

  “Doubtful,” I replied. “He was killed in the demon underground.”

  She nodded. “So another demon then. That might make things difficult. Instead of giving you a location, we may just have to try summoning the owner.”

  I cringed. The Council might let my extra traveling slide, but they would not like that.

  Rose watched me carefully. “Let’s just see what info we can get off the blade, then we’ll go from there.”

  I nodded, then took another sip of my coffee. “We really appreciate this. I’m not sure how else we could solve this otherwise.”

  “Alright,” she said, lifting the baggie off the counter. “You guys sit tight, and I’ll get Mel to help me track this. Don’t worry, she won’t breathe a word. She wants to be involved with demons even less than I do.”

  She left the kitchen, leaving me alone with Chase and Jason.

  I resumed my seat, content to quietly sip my coffee.

  “Are you sure we should be trusting an extra witch with this?” Chase questioned, approaching me. “Mel clearly despises us.”

  I laughed. “Who doesn’t?”

  “I’m serious, Xoe.”

  I sighed, then set my cup on the counter. “You asked for my help, remember? So please just let me do my job.”

  Jason had wandered away from us, and was now peeking down the hall. He glanced back at me.

  I waved him off. “Go ahead and snoop. If you get caught, it’s on you.”

  “I just want to check and see if any vampires have been here.” He disappeared down the hall.

  I turned back to Chase. “Devin is worried about the witches and vampires allying against the wolves.”

  He set his unsipped coffee on the counter. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of too. I don’t want any demon information being leaked to the vamps. You could get in big trouble for even being here, Xoe.”

  I blinked up at him, waiting.

  His shoulders slumped. “I know, I know, I aske
d for your help, but you can’t blame me for wanting to keep you safe.”

  My eyebrows raised. “Oh? I think I’ve done a pretty good job of staying safe all by myself lately. I don’t need you to watch out for me.”

  He stared at me from beneath his furrowed brow.

  I stared right back, a pleasant smile on my face.

  Clearly admitting defeat, he walked around the counter, then took the stool beside mine. “You haven’t changed a bit, have you?”

  “I’m getting worse with age.”

  The corner of his lip ticked up into a half-smile, then Jason slipped back into the room.

  “Any vamps?” I questioned.

  He shook his head. “Some faint traces of scent, but everything was cleaned recently so it’s hard to tell.” He returned to his abandoned coffee cup.

  I heard female voices arguing, growing louder as they neared. A moment later, Rose and Mel entered the kitchen.

  Rose stalked ahead of Mel, the bagged knife in hand. She extended it as she reached me. “Did you know?” she growled.

  I blinked up at her. “Know what? We came to you because we don’t know a damned thing.”

  She dropped the knife onto the counter with a loud clang. “I didn’t think there was any chance I’d actually know the demon that belonged to.” She stared at the knife like it might bite her.

  Well now I was really curious. “Rose,” I said patiently, “who owns the knife?”

  Anger glittered in her eyes as they met mine. “The demon who killed my sister and stepfather, that’s who.”

  I was so stunned I nearly lost my grip on my coffee. I knew the demon who’d killed her family members too. The demon who’d killed them was Nix.

  Chapter Seven

  Rose balled her hands into fists at her sides, her angry gaze darting back and forth between me and Chase. “Did either of you know she was still around? Don’t lie to me.”

  I bit my lip. I was such an idiot. I hadn’t even thought to tell Rose that Nix was back in Shelby. Nix had been manipulated by my grandmother into killing Rose’s family members, but it didn’t change the fact that she was the one who’d murdered them in cold blood.

  “You did know,” she accused, reading my expression.

  I lifted my hands in surrender. “Only since yesterday. Before that, I hadn’t seen her since she went on the run from the Demon Council. I had no idea she was involved with Sam’s death.” I frowned at that, because it really didn’t make any sense. If she killed Sam, then why come to me?

  “Where is she now?” Rose growled.

  Mel walked up behind her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Rose,” she said softly, “don’t involve yourself with them. What’s done is done. If you want to find Nix, we’ll do it ourselves.”

  I sensed a shiver of magic coming from Mel. She was doing something to calm Rose’s ire. I lifted a brow at her. It wasn’t often one met a real witch. Low power witches, sure, but they couldn’t accomplish much without a coven. Mel was something a little bit more.

  Her hand still on Rose’s shoulder, she glared at me. “Don’t get any funny ideas, demon.”

  I lifted my hands in surrender again, then jumped at the sound of glass breaking. Jason was out of the kitchen in a flash, leaving those of us without supernatural speed to stare dumbly at each other.

  “Xoe!” Jason called out, finally spurring me into motion.

  I leapt from my stool and raced past the witches, shoving the bagged knife into my coat pocket on the way out. I took a sharp left, then skidded to a halt in the entry room. Jason stood back near the wide staircase, arms held out defensively. Across from him were two men and one woman, their clothing heavy on black leather.

  “They’re vampires,” he said as Chase, Mel, and Rose caught up with me.

  The man nearest us, tall and gaunt with close-cropped brown hair, flicked his gaze to me, then back to Jason. “Our business is with the witches. The rest of you must leave now.”

  I stepped forward, summoning a ball of flame into my palm. “We’re not going anywhere. Now give me one good reason not to roast you.” They hadn’t offered us violence, yet, but they had broken the window to unlock the door from the inside. That justified a fireball in my book.

  Mel stepped up on my left, then Chase on my right.

  The female vampire flipped her long black hair, looking to the gaunt man for instruction. The second male vampire, shorter than the other two with reddish brown hair, watched my fireball warily.

  “More than you bargained for?” I questioned.

  The gaunt vampire’s smile was the only warning I had before they attacked. Almost too fast to follow, the woman rushed Jason, and the two men came barreling toward us. I had to dive to the side before I could throw my fireball, quickly rolling to my feet just as Mel sailed past me to thud into the wall, hard. The vampire had tossed her like she weighed nothing.

  Turning away from Mel, I chucked a fireball at the reddish-haired vamp’s back, just as he made a grab for Rose. He screeched, then fell back, rolling across the tiles in an attempt to put out the fire. Using the distraction to his advantage, the gaunt vamp darted behind Rose, using her like a human shield.

  Chase took a step toward him. His back was to me, but I knew his fangs would be out. Not vamp fangs, but snake fangs, inherited from his Naga bloodline. I’d seen his poison kill a vampire once before. It wasn’t pretty.

  The vampire holding rose produced a thin, gleaming knife, or I guess it was more like a scalpel, then pressed it against her throat. “Not another step,” he warned, his eyes on Chase. His buddy, now flame free, stumbled to his feet.

  I glanced toward Mel’s crumpled form to find Jason checking her pulse. He rose with a subtle nod, signaling she was alive, then joined my side. I assumed the female vamp’s corpse was somewhere behind us, but didn’t look.

  The vampire with the knife pressed it more firmly against Rose’s throat. “The rest of you will be leaving now. We have business with the witches that does not concern you.”

  I flexed my fists, wondering if he’d really kill her. Probably not since he had business with her, but I wasn’t willing to stake her life on it.

  “Let her go, and you’ll walk out of here alive,” I offered. “Refuse, and you’re both going to end up crispy critters.”

  The vamp who’d already almost become a crispy critter audibly gulped, but knife guy wasn’t wavering. He backed down the hall, tugging Rose along.

  “Don’t,” I warned, holding out a hand.

  Before I could say more, someone started chanting in a language I didn’t recognize. I turned to see Mel had regained consciousness. Though her eyes were still closed, her lips moved with her words. Pressure built in the air, summoning forth goosebumps across my arms.

  Chase whipped around. “Jason!” he shouted. “Run!”

  Jason was gone in a flash, just seconds before both vampires dropped to the floor. The shiny knife clattered across the tiles.

  Rose gasped, clutching her throat as she stumbled away from her captor.

  I looked between her and Mel as the latter slowly hobbled to her feet. “What the hell was that!” I gasped.

  “A curse,” Chase explained, reaching my side. “One aimed at the technically dead.”

  “Could you sense it because of your—” I began to ask, then realized something more important. “Jason!” I glanced around. He’d made it out of the room, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t lying in a heap somewhere down the hall.

  “It won’t kill them,” Mel explained, drawing my attention. “Unfortunately.” She glared down at the vampire I’d lit on fire. “They’ll be out for a few hours at most. After that, they’ll be weakened until they feed.”

  I jumped as I realized someone was standing behind me, peering over my shoulder, then relaxed upon realizing it was Jason. Damn silent vampires. “Glad to see you’re not unconscious.”

  “Thanks for the heads up,” he said to Chase, “but how did you . . . ”


  Chase nudged the nearest vampire with his toe. “I can sense magic pertaining to death, though my gifts are nowhere near as strong as Sam’s were. I wasn’t sure what her curse would do, but I could tell it was aimed at anything . . . dead in the room.”

  Jason stepped around me, but didn’t acknowledge the dead comment. He was far more gracious than I. I’d be insulted if someone even looked at me the wrong way, let alone called me a walking corpse . . . even if that’s what I was.

  “We should restrain them,” I suggested. “When they wake up we can question them.”

  Mel shook her head. “We already know what they want. We’ll stick them in the car and dump them somewhere.” She glanced toward the far end of the staircase, then quickly looked away. “I wish you wouldn’t have killed her,” she said to Jason. “They’ll make us pay for that.”

  “She would have killed me otherwise,” he stated blandly. “What do you mean, they’ll make you pay?” How long has this been going on?”

  Rose’s face was still flushed from her close brush with death. “Since the big reveal. Everyone is picking sides. I didn’t want to. I like Devin and Lucy, and everyone else. The wolves helped protect me from Nix.” She shook her head. “But the vampires won’t take no for an answer, and the wolves aren’t our allies. They’ve chosen the demons over witches.”

  “Devin said he’s tried calling,” I argued.

  Rose glared at me. “The wolves sided with the demons long before the big reveal. You told me yourself your dad worked with Abel and the rest of the Werewolf Coalition. I’m not siding against the wolves because I owe all of you my life, but I’m not siding with them either.”

  I pinched my brow. I was getting a major headache. “We’ll help you dump the vamps, then we’re going to figure this out. I’m sure if Devin knew what was going on, he would want to help you, regardless of what side you’re on. I want to help too, but first we need to find Nix.” I bit my tongue, wishing I hadn’t added that last part.

  Rose and Mel both glared at me.

  Mel put an arm around Rose’s shoulder, but her eyes remained on me. “You’ll find her, then what? If she killed your friend, you’ll have to kill her, right? Or give her to the Demon Council?”